WHAT IS CONDITION BASED MAINTENANCE (CBM)?

At PCMS Engineering, we have the expertise and resources required to implement cost-effective
Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) programs that help organizations of all sizes move from
reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance by using a combination of tools, products and
technologies

What is Condition Based Maintenance?

Condition Based Maintenance is a maintenance strategy which, simply put, measures operational
parameters in assets to determine a change in their condition, performing maintenance only when
the need arises.
By using instrumentation to monitor equipment performance in real time, maintenance personnel
can identify an adverse change in one or more operational parameters and trigger corrective action
to ensure ongoing performance – preventing in-service failure.
Similar to an overall health check at the doctors to detect any underlying issues that might arise
with age, or regularly maintaining your car to keep it running, CBM uses various process
parameters (e.g. pressure, temperature, vibration, flow, noise, visual, thickness etc.) and material
samples (e.g. oil) to monitor conditions in machines.
Engineers can then measure equipment health, performance, reliability and integrity to understand
how machines perform, as well as predicting and preventing failures before they happen.

How does CBM work?

The techniques used to monitor the performance of machinery or a component whilst in operation
is known as condition monitoring. Condition monitoring techniques – such as vibration
analysis, ultrasonic, thermography and oil analysis – can be used solely or in combination and are
vital in making sure maintenance is only performed when absolutely necessary.
Generally, condition monitoring techniques are used on a variety of assets such as pumps, electric
motors, internal combustion engines, gearboxes, fans, electrical control panels, compressed air and
hydraulic systems etc.

What are the benefits of CBM to my organization?

The main benefits of applying an effective condition based maintenance program are that repairs
can be scheduled during non-peak times, machine productivity and service life are enhanced, and
repair costs due to a loss of production time are eliminated.
How do I identify my most critical assets?
The key to having a cost-effective and balanced condition based maintenance program is to assess
which machines are most valuable by performing an asset criticality audit. This addresses the
impact of temporary or permanent loss that a key asset would have on your business. The
characteristics that make an asset valuable aren’t always obvious. It’s important to rank assets
based on the significance a failed asset has on your business.
For example, a small motor gearbox with a replacements cost of a few hundred pounds, which can
be sourced quickly, is not critical equipment that needs constant monitoring.
In contrast, a motor gearbox that powers a major conveyor belt with a replacements cost of
thousands of pounds, which could take weeks to source and halts your production line until it’s
repaired or replaced, is a critical piece of equipment that needs to be monitored around the clock.

How do I implement a CBM program?

The first phase to implement a condition based maintenance program is to identify your critical
assets by conducting a CBM survey. Our reliability experts will discuss your maintenance
requirements, identify critical assets and pinpoint maintenance resources to where they are needed
most.
If you are looking to increase productivity, lowers costs and improve the bottom line throughout
your entire organization, then contact us to discuss how we can implement an efficient and
effective CBM strategy.